Laminated magnet keeper for implant device
First Claim
1. An implantable medical device comprising:
- a receiving coil adapted to be electromagnetically coupled with a transmitting coil of an external device;
a magnetic element responsive to a magnetic field for holding the implantable medical device in a desired position that aligns the receiving coil with the transmitting coil for efficient power and signal transfer between the receiving and transmitting coils;
means for reducing energy loss within the magnetic element as power and signal transfers occur between the receiving and transmitting coils;
whereby the implantable medical device operates with less loss relative to the amount of energy coupled into the receiving coil.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable medical device, such as an implantable cochlear stimulator (ICS) system, utilizes laminated, sectionalized or particle-ized permanent magnets and/or keepers in both the implant portion and external (non-implanted) portion so as to reduce the electrical energy absorbed by both the implant device and the external device when in use. In one embodiment, the implant device employs a sectionalized, laminated or particle-based “keeper”, while the external device employs a sectionalized, laminated or particle-ized magnet, making the implant device immune to being damaged by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). The combination of the sectionalized/laminated/particle magnets and the sectionalized/laminated/particle keepers creates a very high electrical resistance path across the boundaries of the laminations, sections, or particles, thereby reducing the magnitude of eddy currents that would otherwise flow transversely through the keeper in the presence of a magnetic flux passing through the keeper or magnet. The reduction of eddy currents, in turn, reduces energy loss.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An implantable medical device comprising:
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a receiving coil adapted to be electromagnetically coupled with a transmitting coil of an external device;
a magnetic element responsive to a magnetic field for holding the implantable medical device in a desired position that aligns the receiving coil with the transmitting coil for efficient power and signal transfer between the receiving and transmitting coils;
means for reducing energy loss within the magnetic element as power and signal transfers occur between the receiving and transmitting coils;
whereby the implantable medical device operates with less loss relative to the amount of energy coupled into the receiving coil. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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- 8. An improved implantable medical device having a receiving coil adapted to be coupled with an external magnetic field for providing power and control signals to the implantable medical device, and further including a magnetic element that helps align the receiving coil with the external magnetic field in order to make the transfer of power and control signals more efficient, wherein the improvement comprises a magnetic element having laminations, sections or particles that minimize the formation of eddy currents in the magnetic element in the presence of a magnetic field.
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11. A medical device system comprising a first part and a second (non-implanted) part, the first part and the second part each having a coil therein through which power may be inductively coupled from the first part to the second part when the respective coils are aligned, comprising:
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a first magnetic element in the first part;
a second magnetic element in the second part adapted to be magnetically attracted to the first magnetic element in the first part, which attraction aligns the respective coils for efficient power and signal transfer;
wherein at least the second magnetic element has electrical resistance blocking means therein for minimizing the formation of eddy currents in the second magnetic element when in the presence of a magnetic field, thereby making the transfer of power into the second part more efficient. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for reducing power losses associated with the transfer of energy into an implantable medical device from an external device via inductive coupling, the implantable medical device having a first magnetic element therein adapted to be magnetically attracted to a second (non-implanted) magnetic element, comprising:
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positioning the first magnetic element relative to an implanted coil within the implantable medical device so that when the first magnetic element is maximally magnetically attracted to the second magnetic element, the implanted coil is aligned with an external coil for efficient inductive coupling; and
configuring the first (implanted) magnetic element so as to minimize the formation of eddy currents therein when the second magnetic element is in the presence of a magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification